On writing: poetry and prose

Jan 7: Interview with Beverly Bateman

I’m a Canadian author wholives in the Okanagan Valley in BC, Canadaamong vineyards, orchards, lakes and mountains with my Shiba Inu dogs. We live on a small lake in orchard and wine country so I get to sit on my deck, sip a local wine and pen my latest romantic suspense. Hunted, Missing and the newest – Targeted are part of my Montana series.

Tell us something about your new book?

The newest book is Targeted, the third in the Hawkins Ranch series. It’s Kye’s story.After and eleven-year absence Janna Kincaid inherits a ranch and is forced to return to a town she only remembers with unhappiness, a man to whom she was briefly married and never wants to see again, and someone is trying to kill her.

Kye Hawkins has loved Janna since he first met her. They were married but a few weeks later she ran away, without an explanation. He still hasn’t figured out why. Now she’s coming back. Does she still love him? Can he rekindle the romance and also prevent her from being killed?

Janna doesn’t want Kye’s help in anyway, yet he always seems to be there when she’s in trouble. Can they work together to find a killer, save the Native burial ground and home of the spirits, and find romance again?

How did you start writing about cowboys?

I’m not sure. I’ve driven through Montana several times and I love the idea of Montana, ranches and cowboys. In Missing, I wrote about a New York doctor moving to Montana, totally out of her element. And I was in the fancy Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC, Canada and visualized a cowboy with spurs striding across the elegant, marble floor. It turned out to be Hunted, the first in the series.

How much research do you do for your books, and how do you go about it?

It depends. I’ve done a lot for my last book. I researched the Blackfoot/Blackfeet First Nation/American Indian both online and when I visited Calgary, Alberta. It’s interesting how the name of the First Nation changes when it crosses the border. I also researched ranches online and by asking for info on several loops.

Who are your favorite writers in your genre?

Caroline Clemmons and Margot Dalton

What is your writing process?

I’m not sure I have one. It varies with the book. With Targeted it’s the third in the series so it’s been set up previously. I do a thumb nail sketch of where I think he book will go and start writing. I try to write every day but sometimes life interferes. With Targeted the story didn’t go the way I planned. The villain morphed and changed. Several other things popped up and I added them in. I do a rough draft, writing with little editing. Then I go back and edit, and re-edit, have it proof read and re-edit it.

What is your favorite quote about writing?

How about two? Both by Ray Bradbury

“You fail only if you stop writing.” and

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”

What do you want readers to take away from your books?

First, I hope they enjoy the book and can relate to the characters. Second, I hope it takes them out of their present world where they can escape for a little while. Also, maybe they might learn something new, like the difference in the Blackfoot Nation.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on Gabe’s story, the next one in the Hawkins Ranch Series. This is about emotional and physical abuse. A woman escapes and finds her way to Duster, Montana where Gabe and the Hawkins family find her and try to protect her.

Any last words?

Targeted has two covers; one of the UK and one for everyone else. Ask me and I’ll explain why.